It is known to provide tailgate gap covers on vehicles, such as pickups to cover the gap between the truck bed and the tailgate. This forms a horizontal surface bridging the gap between the truck bed and tailgate surface when the tailgate is lowered to the open position wherein the continuous surface simplifies sweeping of debris out of the bed during cleaning or unloading of the truck bed. The continual horizontal surface therefore prevents the debris from falling into the gap and causing difficulties in opening and closing of the tailgate.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3 hereof, a prior art tailgate gap cover is illustrated, which gap cover is disclosed in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,945 (Murray). This illustrates one example of a known tailgate gap cover. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a tailgate truck mat 1 is shown which is formed of a resilient flexible material forming a strip whereby the strip can be fastened by suitable screws to the interface of the pickup truck tailgate 3 along the lower edge portion thereof. A strip of magnetic material 1b is embedded into the bottom surface of the strip 1, the magnetic strip 1b being engageable with the flat end portion of the truck bed 4.
In use, the mat 1 is secured to the tailgate 3 and extends over the gap or track 5 between the tailgate and the end of the truck bed. The screws 2 hold one side of the strip and the magnetic strip 1b holds the other side of the strip against the truck bed, but allows the respective edge portion of the mat to slide on the bed during the opening and closing of the tailgate 3. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, some prior art pickup trucks have conventional reinforcing ribs 4a which do not extend the full length of the bed. Referring to FIG. 2, other known pickup trucks are manufactured with ribs 4b that extend the full length of the bed. The mat 1 as disclosed in the '945 patent is designed to accommodate these different configurations. However, this prior art mat 1 is believed to possess deficiencies when in use.
It is in the object of the present invention to overcome disadvantages with prior art gap covers and to provide an improved gap cover.
The present invention relates to a tailgate gap cover which is mountable to a vehicle, such as a pickup truck, so as to cover the gap between a truck bed and a tailgate surface, particularly when the tailgate is in an open, lowered position. The gap cover of the present invention includes a generally rectangular cover which is flat and resiliently flexible and is sized in the front-to-back direction so as to span or bridge the gap defined between the truck bed and tailgate.
One edge of the cover preferably is confined within an elongate mounting rail which is formed with a C-shaped cross section to receive the edge of the cover and is compressed therein. Preferably the mounting rail is crimped at the opposite ends so as to prevent lateral movement of the cover along the mounting rail. This mounting rail is secured directly to the truck bed to provide a rigid mount on the truck bed side of the gap.
The opposite free edge of the cover which overlies the tailgate includes connector formations or fastener structures which preferably are formed as snaps that releasably snap onto corresponding connector formations or fastener structures on the tailgate. Preferably, the gap cover includes an attachment rail which is formed as a relatively rigid rail that is secured directly to the tailgate by suitable fasteners. In turn, this attachment rail includes the tailgate connector formations which are located so as to releasably engage with the corresponding cover connector formations on the gap cover and thereby define a releasable or disengageable connection. When the connector formations are respectively engaged with each other, the gap cover is fixedly secured to both the truck bed and the tailgate. When the fasteners are disengaged, the tailgate can be removed, wherein the gap cover can hang free so as to continue to protect the rear edge of the truck bed and provide a continuous surface extension extending from the truck bed that helps when removing debris therefrom. This tailgate gap cover is believed to provide advantages over known gap covers.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.